The skies above a 557-mile stretch of the UK, from the Isle of Skye in Scotland to Sussex in the south of England, will open tomorrow to usher in a barrage of wet and windy weather, according to new maps.
Forecasts by WXCharts suggest that around 7.5mm of rain could fall between 3pm and 4pm on Thursday, December 5, first hitting northern parts of Scotland before moving across through Glasgow and Edinburgh across the English border.
Heavy rainfall is also predicted for parts of the West Midlands on Thursday, with southern England largely unaffected. It comes as the Met Office has warned of strong winds of up to 80mph, with a raft of yellow alerts in place covering large parts of the country.
The stormy weather will pick up again on Friday night, December 6, with areas around Belfast in Northern Ireland bearing the brunt of the downpours and parts of Scotland and Cumbria recording around 0.6cm of snowfall at around the same time.
Other northern cities won’t quite become winter wonderlands, but could record up to 2mm of rainfall an hour from 6pm.
The storm is set to continue at pace into the weekend, with further downpours on the northern England coast and snow falling heavily in southeast Scotland at around 12am on Saturday.
Weather maps also show the bad weather beginning to hit southern areas on Saturday morning, with London and Sussex in the danger zones for major downpours.
The wet and windy weather is then expected to continue throughout Saturday, with gusts reaching around 50km in Birmingham and parts of Wales including Cardiff.
It comes after the Met Office issued a raft of yellow weather warnings covering almost the whole of the UK, coming into force at 3pm on Friday and ending at 6am on Sunday.
The forecaster warned of strong winds of up to 80mph, heavy rain and flooding across England, Scotland and Wales causing disruption to travel and cautioned drivers to be careful on the roads amid “difficult conditions”.
The Met Office advises people to take steps to protect their property from heavy winds and says: “Check for loose items outside your home and plan how you could secure them. Items include bins, garden furniture, trampolines, tents, sheds and fences.”
It adds in the warning: “If you are on the coast, stay safe during stormy weather by being aware of large waves. Even from the shore large breaking waves can sweep you off your feet and out to sea.”
This Evening and Tonight:
Rain moving across the southeast overnight with clear weather in the northwest. Strong winds easing into the morning in the north and milder temperatures.
Thursday:
Cloudy in the south with some rain clearing over the morning. Heavy rain and winds picking up in the north throughout the day.
Outlook for Friday to Sunday:
Increasingly unsettled weather going into the weekend, with heavy rain across the UK on Friday and Saturday and possible gales. Temperatures beginning mild and becoming colder.
